


The Human Starter Kit

by PrettyMessedUpSituation (MarcelinesNightosphere)



Series: Drabbles and Ficlets from Prompts [19]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Castiel's Birthday, Gift Giving, Human Castiel, Implied Castiel/Dean Winchester, Sentimental Dean Winchester, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-11
Updated: 2018-05-11
Packaged: 2019-05-05 04:44:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14609601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarcelinesNightosphere/pseuds/PrettyMessedUpSituation
Summary: Newly human Cas decides on when his birthday should be, and Dean gives a gift he’s been carrying around for quite some time.





	The Human Starter Kit

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: It’s my birthday so could you fill a prompt about Dean/Cas and something about birthdays? I’d like it to be sfw, if that’s ok with you :) - Anon
> 
> Find it on tumblr [here](http://prettymessedupsituation.tumblr.com/post/173759847928/its-my-birthday-so-could-you-fill-a-prompt-about).

“C’mon, Cas. Just pick a day,” Dean said, nudging Cas with his shoulder. The two stood side by side, leaning against the Impala, beers in hand.

“That seems…wholly unsentimental,” Cas said. He squinted into the sun as it started to dip below the horizon. “I think if it’s to be my _birth day_ , it should have some kind of meaning.”

Dean raised his eyebrows and thought for a moment before nodding and conceding the point. “What about the day you met me?” he said, teasing.

“That was hardly a meaningful day,” Cas said dryly.

Dean’s smile faded. “I was kidding, but thanks.”

“I was kidding too.” Cas took a sip of his beer. “I could choose the day I fell. The first time I was human.”

“But what about the second time? This time?”

“Fine,” Cas said. “That works for me.” He smiled at the sight of the sky beginning to swirl with color. “Why do I need to have a ‘birthday’ anyway?”

Dean shrugged and scratched at the label of his beer with his thumb. “It’s a day to celebrate you existing. That’s a damn good thing to celebrate, don’t you think?”

Cas smiled. “What about today?” he asked.

“Today’s a good day for a birthday,” Dean said.

Spring was in full bloom and summer lay around the corner. The days were longer and warmer, and the evenings were much more pleasant. It was perfect weather for sitting outside and watching the day slip away to night. Cas watched a few starlings flit across the sky in front of them against the backdrop of the mountains. The blue of the sky gave way to purple and pink. “It’s a beautiful evening.”

Dean reached through the car window and popped the trunk. “Well, since it’s your birthday….” Dean walked around to the back of the Impala and began rustling around in the trunk, looking for something. “Since it’s your birthday, you’ve gotta have at least one present.” Dean closed the trunk and walked back to his spot next to Cas. He handed him a box. “Sorry about any dust. I’ve been holding on to this for a while.”

Cas took the box in his hands and looked quizzically at it.

Dean leaned toward him, his hands shoved nervously in his pockets. “You’re, uh, you’re supposed to open it,” he whispered. 

Cas rolled his eyes and set the box on the hood of the impala. He untied the twine and unfolded the brown paper wrapping. He popped open the cardboard to reveal a stained oak box with a slightly domed lid.

“Open it,” Dean said, a bit of childlike excitement edging in his voice.

Inside the box, Cas found three mix-tapes, an unused hunting knife with a hand-sewn leather sheath, a silver pendant of St. Gerolamo Emiliani, a newspaper clipping from September 18th, 2008, and a key to the Impala.

“Dean -”

Before Cas could say anything, Dean cleared his throat. “If you’re gonna be human, for _good_ this time, you’re gonna need a place to store all your sentimental crap. I covered the basics - you’ve got tunes, a knife…some other stuff….” Dean took a swig of his beer and stared off into the western sky.

“You made me a human starter kit,” Cas said quietly. 

“Well,” Dean started, “you need a new wardrobe, but that wasn’t gonna fit in that box. But when you’ve got to cut and run, whatever you decide to put in there is gonna be the stuff you’ll want to save.”

Cas teared up as he ran his thumb along the edge of the St. Gerolamo Emiliani pendant - the patron saint of orphans. As the patron angel of orphans, among other things, Emiliani was one of the saints in Castiel’s charge. Now, he would look after Castiel. The once-angel looked up at Dean and felt immense gratitude. A millennia of angelic work had met such a mundane end; but becoming human wasn’t an end as much as a beginning. And now, thanks to Dean, he had a place that was just his own to keep those small trinkets that would carry such sentimental meaning. He had a place to keep the things that would make up his human life - a matchbook, a key, a hospital bracelet, a Do Not Disturb sign from a motel, anything that reminded him of a time he’d never want to forget. Dean had given him the beginnings of what would one day become all that would be left of his existence and someplace to make sure his memories were kept safe.

Cas, unable to look at Dean, gently placed the cap from his beer into the box. “Thank you, Dean,” Cas said, his voice quivering. “Truly. Thank you.”

Dean smiled and quietly wiped away a tear. “Happy birthday, Cas.”


End file.
